Duke Ellington : When asked what inspired him to write, Ellington replied, “My men and my race are the inspiration of my work. I try to catch the character and mood and feeling of my people”

Red Hot Jaz : He returned to New York again in 1923, but this time with a group of friends from Washington D.C. They worked for a while with banjoist Elmer Snowden until there was a disagreement over missing money.

PBS : His father, a well-respected butler (house manager) for a prominent Washington doctor, sometimes served at the White House and ran his own catering business. His mother was a beautiful woman who sometimes worked as a domestic.

Harlem 1900-1940 : He made his recording debut about 1924 and the band recorded under several names, such as the Jungle Band, the Whoopee Makers and the Harlem Footwarmers.

Duke Ellington Centennial Celebration : Compositions would be conceived as colors, and many of his works attest to this by name: Black and Tan Fantasie, Black Beauty, Black, Tan and Beige, Mood Indigo, Carnegie Blues, Blue Serge, Transbluency (A Blue Fog You Can Almost See Through).

Photo Matt : Duke said : “I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right.”

Duke Ellington Legacy : In 1953 Ellington recorded the album Piano Reflections, on which some of his most enduring work as a pianist can be found. A religious man, Ellington began composing liturgical works (which he called sacred concerts) in the 1960s.

Wikipedia : Ellington was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1965, but was turned down. His reaction at 67 years old: “Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn’t want me to be famous too young.”